page 1 COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF ACTIVE AND PASSIVE SOLAR HEATING SYSTEMS WITH TRANSPARENT INSULATION Bruno Peuportier (*) and Jacques Michel (**) (*) Ecole des Mines de Paris, CENERG, 60 Bd St Michel, F-75272 Paris Cedex 06, France (**)Architect, 14 rue des Poissonniers, BP 32, F-92204 Neuilly sur Seine Cedex ABSTRACT The objective of this research is to achieve a high solar fraction in social housing, for which investment costs are strictly limited. Six houses have been built in the east of France : two with active (solar collectors) and four with passive (Trombe walls) solar heating systems. Two types of transparent covers are compared: a capillary structure and a simpler polycarbonate plate. The project was monitored during one year, experimental measurements as well as simulation results are presented in this article. The use of simulation allowed a comparison of the various systems on a common basis, i.e. minimizing the effect of different occupants behaviour. Compared to the cheaper cover, transparent insulation increased of 25% the productivity of the air collectors, and doubled the gain of the Trombe wall. Thanks to passive or active controls, the thermal comfort was not reduced by the solar systems, neither in summer nor in mid-season. 1 INTRODUCTION In a long term approach to design eco-friendly buildings, transparent insulation seems a promising technology. Life cycle analysis of buildings shows that, due to a long life time, the utilization phase has a larger environmental impact than construction and demolition. During this phase, energy plays an essential role and the corresponding impact can be greatly reduced by the use of solar gains. Furthermore, transparent insulation gives interesting possibilities for architectural integration, concerning both opaque walls and glazings, for both heating and daylighting applications.